Shelley Smith comfortable after being moved back to guard

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
When Shelley Smith was signed as a free agent in the offseason, many expected him to be penciled in as one of the starting left guards. When Mike Pouncey underwent surgery before training camp began, Smith got the news that he would be moving over to center – the day he reported to the facilities for camp.

After the experiment at center failed, he has been moved back to right guard, a position he’s played most of his career.

"He certainly did some good things [at center] but there was some inconsistency there," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. "I do think he's a little bit more at home playing at guard. That's where the vast majority of his time was spent."

"Definitely some learning struggles at first," Smith said of playing center. "I felt like I was getting more and more comfortable at it every day. It's just like anything else. The more you practice it, the better you get. I'm continuing to try to work at it. Like I said, we're all out there competing. I'm trying to make sure I'm comfortable at all three spots. You never know what's going to happen during the course of the year. It's always a work in progress to try to get more comfortable."

Heading into the third preseason game on Saturday, it looks like the starting spot is Smith’s to lose after Dallas Thomas was replaced after a poor showing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

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